


Hug Me Until The Pain Subsides

by hansungchan



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Crushes, Fluff, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Lee Jeno is Whipped, Light Angst, M/M, Renjun is sad, and he needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25935682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hansungchan/pseuds/hansungchan
Summary: Huang Renjun is sad. So Jeno hugged him.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 4
Kudos: 94





	Hug Me Until The Pain Subsides

**Author's Note:**

> Or basically a 1.6K words of NoRen hugging. That's it, that's the plot. 
> 
> I'm sad and Renjun is sad so Jeno is sad and basically we all need a hug when we're sad. 
> 
> Could be a part of a series. We'll see.
> 
> \- sungchan

It is a cold Sunday evening, roads are parched because of the heavy rainfall from an hour ago. Careful to not accidentally stain or soak his white shoes on the mud, Lee Jeno crossed the streets and the sidewalk with tentative footsteps. Fifteen minutes before the next bus arrived did the sight of the mini waiting shed finally came into the distance. His wristwatch says the time is 08:30, he took longer than expected closing the bubble tea shop where he works at.

T’was a few steps away- a not so far distance, when he saw him. A familiar boy in an also very familiar gray hoodie, sitting alone at the bench. His face is looking at the opposite direction from where the bus was supposed to come from, obviously deep in thought and could care less about, _well,_ the bus.

Jeno blinked twice, maybe even thrice, just to make sure he is seeing things correctly. But when he closed in, finally sitting beside the boy itself did he realize that no, he is not mistaken.

Beside him is Huang Renjun. That very pretty upperclassman of his in their university. They’re basically the same age but Jeno is Korean and so he stopped a year to serve the military whereas Renjun is Chinese and isn’t obliged to follow the mandatory law. It is Renjun, his senior who majors in Language and owns the fluffiest gray hoodie Jeno has ever seen. And maybe, just maybe, Jeno has a _tiny bit_ of a crush to said senior of his.

However, as soon as Renjun felt his presence, the smaller male is quick to wipe something on his face. Jeno couldn’t see clearly because his face is practically covered by the hood (in the process he also had to stop himself from melting at the sight of Renjun’s sweater paws), but he definitely heard a _sob_.

‘ _Is Renjun sunbae crying again?’_ Jeno’s heart pang at the thought.

It seems so. Renjun tried to hide it, obscuring the view of his face from the newcomer who is now sitting beside him. But Jeno sees it all. The way his shoulder trembles a little, the little sound of hiccups escaping his lips, and the wet patch of his sweater paws from where he wiped his tears with.

Jeno’s eyes soften, hand so close to touching Renjun’s shoulder and asking him what’s wrong. But he knows it is a stupid move. It would be totally weird in Renjun’s eyes if a random stranger tried to comfort him, given Jeno would transform into a blabbering mess if the senior as so much as spare him a look. He’d only make a fool of himself. Worst case scenario, he’d probably scare Renjun too.

But the longer Jeno stares at the small hands balled into fists on Renjun’s thigh, trembling not because of the cold but of the repressed emotions he tried so hard to contain, he felt his heart crushed too like it was the one being squeezed instead on that tiny little palm of his. For some reason unknown to Jeno, the Chinese is sad. And crying again.

The memory of the first time he saw tears roll down Renjun’s cheeks flashed in his head. Instead of a bus stop, that time they were on an actual bus instead. And the pretty senior is looking out the window, eyes filled with agony, as they gave birth to tears after tears. Jeno has never felt so _so_ heavy in his entire life.

“Excuse me?” Jeno gulps as he pokes Renjun’s shoulder.

The senior froze, a little bit of a second before he fully turned to Jeno. “Y-Yes?”

As expected, his eyes are bloodshot and there are obvious traces of tears beneath. Jeno stared hard at the artificial smile Renjun had on his lips, before his gaze travel up to his orbs. Where a soul could never lie.

Jeno spoke without thinking. “Can I have a hug?”

“H-Huh?!”

“I’m sad because my crush is sad. Can I have a hug?”

“Errr...” Renjun looked around, face a little worried as his chest clearly was filled by hesitation due to the strange request of a stranger.

But Jeno spoke again in a croaked voice. “Please? I really need a hug.” _‘I really want to hug you. Let me.’_

Maybe it’s the desperation hinted on Jeno’s voice or the sincerity he brimmed with his gentle eyes, that made Renjun lean forward slowly, hands awkwardly resting at Jeno’s back before he was fully engulfed in Jeno’s arms.

‘ _He’s cold,’_ Jeno thought. The kind that is comforting. Renjun’s body is small in comparison to his, and they fit so perfectly inside. Jeno wrapped his shoulders around his crush’s torso, pulling him a little closer as he settles him in his warmth.

When Renjun started to cry, Jeno made sure to rub his back and cradle his head. The soft touch of Renjun’s locks under his fingers, the bubble gum scent of Renjun’s shampoo, and even the tiny shivers of his body from their embrace, it all brings a calming sensation to Jeno. And he badly just hopes the same goes for his sunbae.

Renjun buried his face on his chest, losing himself to his own tears and pain. He cried so hard, hands holding on to Jeno like a life support. And maybe Jeno is indeed his life support. On a cold rainy evening, Jeno ended up to be the person he holds on to.

So they hugged. Not minding about the bus that already passed them by.

***

“You’re weird,” were the first words to left Renjun’s mouth after their intense hugging session at the bus stop.

“I know,” Jeno instead replied, now with a small smile on his lips as he walked side by side with the Chinese. Both of them obviously missed the bus and it’s the last one that day, so they had no choice but to call a cab instead.

“I mean, who asks for a hug because they’re sad that their crush _is_ sad?” Renjun chuckled.

“Me, obviously.”

“Well, I know the hug is for your crush but thanks. Through the entire time, I felt like it is meant for me.”

‘ _Because it is.’_ “Well, you pretty ruined my shirt here,” Jeno joked, talking about the big wet patch in front of his chest.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. Should I take it for cleaning? I mean no- you’d have to take it off to do that and obviously you’d be naked so that’s not even an option. Okay, how about I gave you my apartment’s address and you send it to me tomorrow so I could transfer it for the laundry?”

Upon seeing the panic look on Renjun’s face, Jeno is quick to hush him. “No no, hey calm down. I was just joking. It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?” Renjun still looks unsure so Jeno gave him his biggest smile.

“Very.”

“By the way, why didn’t you hug your crush instead of hugging me at the bus stop?”

The confusion in Renjun’s eyes when he asked that is too adorable Jeno cannot keep count how many times his insides melted that night. He might as well turn into a puddle of goo by the end of the night.

“I did hug him.”

But Jeno said it too fast, too silent even, that Renjun failed to catch it. “Can you repeat it? I didn’t quite hear that.”

Laughing, he shakes his head and showed a tongue instead. Renjun snorts.

“But don’t worry, he’ll be okay soon. Your crush, I mean.”

It amazes Jeno, how Renjun sounded so clueless but so worried about the “crush” Jeno was talking about. _‘Cute.’_ “I don’t know. I hope so. Are _you_ okay?”

“Hmm, I am much better. The hug helped me a lot.”

“Say hey, what do you think I should say to my sad crush to cheer him up?”

Renjun was in deep thinking at the throw of that question. “I don’t think it should be your job to cheer him up. Sometimes, when a sad person feels so down, so alone, they might not need words and all those encouraging shits you read on the internet. They don’t need someone to tell them they’ll be okay, or it’ll get better. Don’t you think they already told that to themselves? If your crush is really sad, nothing could cheer him up better but a silent support and a presence of someone who truly cares. There’s no need for empty promises or deceitful lies, sometimes a hug is enough. A shoulder to cry on. A fleeting second of your time, just until they can finally stand again on their own.”

Jeno truly doesn’t want to sound like a creep yet he can’t help but to study Renjun’s face while he spoke. His soft voice who appears to be talking from personal experience, his eyes that drifts away to look longingly at the cloudy sky, the corners of his lips that curls up and dances in a sad rhythm of a painful melody. Jeno did not ask what makes the boy so sad. And he doesn’t have to.

Not when the cab they called is now stopped in front of them, and Renjun is opening the door to occupy the back seat.

Before he could hop in, Jeno stopped him by the wrist. And once again gave him a hug that he desperately hoped to God would cure Renjun’s tired soul.

When he pulls out, it is no surprise Renjun is staring at him wide-eyed and unblinking. Jenosimply grins.

Then he quickly pulls a pen and a sticky note in his bag. Scribbling in messy handwriting at the top surface before putting the piece of paper in Renjun’s palm.

Jeno waved one last time before he disappeared into Renjun’s sight.

_In need of a hug?_ _Worry no more! Just ring_ _Jeno Lee @ +82-33-xxx-xxx-xxx_ _and he’ll be at service in no time!_

 _Promo exclusive only for_ _his one and only crush. -_ _S_ _incerely, someone_ _who_ _cares._ _A lot._


End file.
